FLAG FOOTBALL RULES - RecSports

c. 6 players are on the field – 3 males and 3 females or 4 males and 2 females or
2 males and 4 females
2. FOOTBALLS: Each team must furnish its own game ball and practice balls. The game ball
must be pebble-grained leather or rubber and meet the recommendations of size and
shape for a regulation football. There are no requirements regarding ball pressure and
markings. The regular, intermediate, youth, or junior size football shall be used for coed
games. Footballs are available for check-out at the Welcome Desk in the TRECS.
3. MINIMUM LINE PLAYERS: The offense must have at least 5 players on the line of
scrimmage at the snap. A player is deemed on the line of scrimmage when facing the
opponent’s goal line with the line of his/her shoulders approximately parallel thereto and
with his/her head or foot breaking the plane of the imaginary line drawn through the
waistline of the snapper. A player in motion is not counted as one of the 5 players needed
to be on the scrimmage line.
4. MALE BALL CARRIERS (Penalty: Illegal Advancement, Live Ball Foul, 5 yards from the
previous spot): A male runner or receiver cannot advance the ball across the line of
scrimmage unless it occurs after:
a. The ball has been touched by any player beyond the scrimmage line.
b. A run by a female runner.
c. A change of team possession.
5. PASSING: During the offensive team’s possession, there may not be 2 consecutive legal
forward pass completions, from a male passer to a male receiver. Each series will begin
with an “open” play. Once a male to male forward pass is completed, the following plays
will be “closed” until a male to female, female to male, or female to female forward pass
is completed for positive yards.
a. OPEN PLAYS: During an “open” play, any player can complete a legal forward pass
to any other player.
b. CLOSED PLAYS: During a “closed” play, the next completion for positive yardage
must be a legal forward pass with either a female throwing the pass or receiving
the pass (Penalty: Illegal Forward Pass, 5 yards from where the pass was released
and loss of down). If a female passer completes a forward pass to a male receiver
behind the A scrimmage line on either an “open” of “closed” play and any A male
runner advances beyond this scrimmage line, it is an Illegal Forward Pass.
Open and closed plays are determined by the action of a legal forward pass and catch.
Therefore, throughout a play there may be multiple possessions by males or females but
the status of the next play is determined by the initial pass and catch. No penalty,
accepted or declined, will affect the open/closed status of the following play. The
open/closed status of a play is not affected when a team scores a touchdown. The PAT’s
status is determined by the previous play that scored the touchdown.
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